Don't lock to a post/object that can be easily removed. (by pulling it out of the ground, or unbolting) Seems to be a particular problem with Pittsburgh. Two thirds of the sign posts I pull on pop right out of the ground.
2010-06-07 03:30:50
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Locking up: Dos and Don'ts
I'm working on those "love your bike, lock it right" tags I made a thread about, and I'm trying to narrow down the basics of what we can agree on as locking up right.
There have been threads about this before, so I'm basically trying to aggregate the info from there into something that we can all agree on.
Dos:
Lock to your frame
Lock up your wheels
Remove valuables from your bike
Lock up in a trafficked area
Dont's:
Lock to your seatpost
Lock to just a wheel
Use just a cable lock
Lock to trees
Lock up where your bike would be in the way
Thoughts/additions?
2010-06-07 03:22:46
Rob, I usually only lock to the rear wheel inside the rear triangle. Personally, I think it is the best way to lock if using a single small u-lock
2010-06-07 03:34:53
ndromb, I do the same thing by locking inside the rear triangle as well. I don't usually lock my front wheel, but I at least have hex skewers on my ride, so they at least require tools.
I used to carry a separate cable lock though for my front wheel so I wouldn't have to remove it every time (which was a pain with the disc brakes on my mountain bike)
2010-06-07 03:41:12
My front wheels mostly have nutted axles, which you could steal if you had a wrench, but I am willing to take the risk.
Sometimes I carry a cable, but it's rare.
2010-06-07 03:47:47
aka the Sheldon Brown Lock Strategy - that's what I do too.
2010-06-07 03:52:29
Yeah, I admit that sheldon is where I first heard of that strategy.
2010-06-07 03:55:38
Agreed on the sheldon locking strategy - thats what I try to do whenever I can as well.
2010-06-07 03:59:29
FWIW, when I was in college, every time I parked I would take the front wheel off and lock the frame and both wheels to something with a big U-lock. I knew people that got their wheels stolen but it never happened to me. So I'm trying to decide if that was overkill or if I've just become complacent. Probably the latter, but my bike also spends a lot less time locked up outside (and for shorter durations) than it used to.
2010-06-07 04:01:23
i have a couple of sketches I was working on just this evening. I'll send those to you in a bit...
2010-06-07 04:02:38
2010-06-07 04:18:43
I do the Sheldon thing with the back wheel and a Ulock, then a cable lock for the front wheel, thru the U lock. I used to not worry about my front wheel, as it is not quick release, until last summer in East Cleveland when someone removed my girlfriend's front inner tube - left the wheel and tire, just took the tube. WTF? They also tried to remove my bike's rear wheel, but decided against it halfway thru. I guess they had a whole assortment of tools handy...
2010-06-07 05:02:20